Incident Summary
A flight instructor and a student pilot were conducting a training flight in a helicopter. After departing from a confined area, the helicopter was climbing through about 200 feet above ground level (AGL) at 60 knots when the engine lost power. The flight instructor immediately took control and executed an autorotation to an open field. Both pilots reported that the touchdown was harder than anticipated, causing the right skid to collapse. The instructor stated that he had performed autorotations with power recovery before but could not recall the last time he had practiced a touchdown autorotation.
Examination Findings
Following the incident, the helicopter manufacturer examined the main rotor blades and found flapping damage, indicating no significant rotation at impact. An inspection of the helicopter revealed that the lower fuselage fairing had separated from the fuselage. After the fairing separated, the wire inside the intake hose that supplies air to the fuel control unit pulled out, and the intake hose collapsed into the engine air intake, blocking it. Additionally, the attachment holes on the lower fuselage fairing were found to be elongated.